The early afternoon had started out rather pleasantly as the sun forced its way through the brush of the forest below. Deer roamed through the low brush in to the open valleys, birds sang their chorus of tunes, and the rodents conversed in the treetops while nibbling on stray seeds and nuts they had found on the ground. It was a warmer than usual day, which was most likely why the entire wood seemed to be talking. Yet soon enough, the clouds rolled in and fog coated the lower valleys and crept up in to the hills of the neutral lands. A low rumble of thunder echoed through the silence of the hills and the once lively and chittering forest grew silent as every creature seemed to turn a head to listen to Mother Nature. As the afternoon rain drew from the clouds above, the stillness of the forest broke; small creatures running to their homes and nests to wait out the storm.

Among those wandering the lands as the rain gently fell was a young dire. To be honest, he didn't really fit in with the rest of the foliage; his mixed dark and light brown coat leaving him a bit of a sore thumb in the already greening world around him. Spring was starting early it seemed, and though he appreciated all the seasons- spring was his favorite. Many creatures who enjoyed the spring would say it was the warm weather, or the ability to watch new life emerge from the dark voids of the harsh winter. To an extent, he would have to agree with all of those sentiments- it was always wonderful to see the budding trees begin anew and for those who had never lost their leave, seeing them come back to life with a sort of bounce in their branches made everyone smile. For Montauk, it was the arrival of his friends; the birds. They would come back in droves over the next few weeks, their chatter filling the air as they returned from their southern flights. It was this that excited Montauk the most. He was never truly talented to understand the avian tongue especially since it came in so many forms and languages. He preferred to listen to the crows and the owls; they were a truer embodiment of what it was he so desperately sought after, but he would be lying if he said he didn't appreciate the new stories that these migrating birds carried on their wings as they returned from a long break to another part of the world. Montauk smiled as a few passing comments from birds in the higher branches reached his ears. Yes, spring was his favorite time of year.

The dire strolled on through the midday rain, happily taking in the silence. He would plan to seek an audience at sundown with an owl if possible, but for now he would just simply enjoy what this world had to offer. Its secrets could wait a few more hours- it had kept them so far, and it had been some time since the young male had stopped to 'smell the flowers'. Montauk plodded through the brush and up the hillsides passing the final layer of fog rolling through the lands, only pausing to look down at the world below for a moment before resuming his walk. It didn't last long though, as the rains picked up ever so slightly, making the dire change his outlook on the walk he was currently on. Perhaps it was time to settle until it passed, he thought, walking ever onwards.

hunger seemed to be daevi’s biggest motivator in talking to others at this point - it was becoming easier and easier for her to withdraw into her mind, and let her senses consume her reality. besides, with the arrival of the spring sun, the land seemed to wake up and drink up the warmth. the critters that had hidden away in their homes came out to chitter and scavenge, and dive for cover when daevi passed by. the chirping of birds and the rustle of the breeze through the trees was enough to take daevi’s attention for hours if she let it. there was something cathartic about walking and listening and walking and listening and not thinking about the future or the past or even the present. she was getting surprisingly good at not thinking. it was much easier that way, anyway - she didn’t feel the guilt, a least not as much.

when the clouds began to come in, daevi sat back on her haunches and watched them roll over each other, fighting each other to eat up the sun and sky. the trees that had been so full of life before began to quiet, as the woodland creatures began to reluctantly crawl back into hiding to wait out the rain. she could smell the humidity on the air, strong and musty and sticky in her lungs but she liked it. rain, much like the cold, was cleansing. she felt like a different person in the rain, and quite liked the feeling of being someone else, even if she wasn’t, really.

after awhile of watching the rain as it began to fall, drenching her fur and the ground beneath her and making everything shiny and new, the woman got to her paws again, the rumbling in her gut a reminder that she was alive and real and seriously needed to find something to eat. it was hard to pull herself from the dream world, drag herself back into reality and the feelings and sensations of her mortal body. sometimes she wanted to stay in her head - become an invisible observer who could wander where she pleased and when, and was never interrupted by hunger or ailments or others. that isn’t to say she didn’t enjoy reality or herself or other wolves, but sometimes it was much easier not to deal with it all. when memories began to surface and pain bubbled up beneath her fur it seemed much easier to escape. but for now she was quite content, the hurt and guilt of her past far in the back of her mind, unlikely to return any time soon.

her aching paw was beginning to feel better, but it still throbbed and she imagined it would be that way for awhile, or as long as she kept walking all day, every day. it was better than sitting still, though. she couldn’t stand that.

the rain dampened her senses, made it difficult to pick out the smells and sounds of prey but she pinpointed a smell of hare and headed that way, pressing through and out of the trees and up the hills that dotted the land. the ground was soft and wet beneath her paws, making her steps near silent, albeit slippery. as the wolf walked, she contemplated her next meal, tasting the rabbit on her tongue already and it made her mouth water with hunger (even though she was so used to the taste of rabbit by now that she longed desperately for something else, sometimes even considering the foul smelling toads that croaked near the edges of water. she hadn’t sunk that far yet, though.) she could smell deer on the wind too, perhaps, which only served to stir her growing hunger, making her stomach clench and growl painfully. she’d have to find something soon, or it would become really uncomfortable.

just as she created the hill, she saw a large figure a few lengths from her, and stopped for a moment in surprise, having not smelled them before on the breeze. now the scent hit her, though, distinctively wolf though he looked more bear to daevi. she looked at him curiously for a moment, deciding he must be two, maybe three times the size of her in weight, and at least a tail length taller. fear made her heart pound in her chest, so loud she was sure he could hear it from over there, but she forced it down. ”excuse me!” she called, her voice laced with friendliness and a girlish innocence that usually worked for her. she padded a bit closer, careful to keep enough distance between them that she could sprint away if he made a move. ”hi there!”

Montauk found himself slowly drifting off in to a world of his own as he plodded along, his pace slowing as the gentle patter of rain rose to meet his ears and offer a white noise to the otherwise silent world. The birds had long since stopped chirping, and only on occasion did he see a few stray in to the sky, only to be deterred by the heavier rainfall and turn back to the safety of the trees. It was quite a sight to him, to think that nature would still try and brave the elements; he'd even include himself in this statistic as he wandered along in hopes of finding a den or craggy overhang to sit under until it passed. To him, it was interesting how with the change of the weather, all life seemed to collectively find themselves on the same page of seeking shelter. Perhaps, he gathered, things were more connected than they were separated.

"Excuse me!"

His own imagination wouldn't take over for long, however, as the rain gave way to a voice a few meters back. The dire paused in his stride, ears flicking away some water droplets as he listened. For a moment he considered that he had heard a voice on the wind, and that it was not another.

"Hi there!"

Montauk's pause turned to a swift about face as the voice rang through a second time. His head rose in curiosity as he turned to see a wolf not far off from him. It came as a mild surprise, as he was never one to attract the attention of others of his kind, let alone a sub species of his kind. Yet Montauk couldn't escape the feeling that this was fated in a larger connection than his mind could comprehend at the moment, and thus, this meeting was meant to be.

"Hello," he called out, taking a few cautious steps towards the wolf, "is everything all right?" It wasn't.....typical to see this sort of interaction, and the wolfs distance had already given way that she was either frightened of him; or that there was another reasoning for her own caution. Montauk stopped after a few steps, squinting slightly to lock down her features as the rains grew heavier and harder.

for a moment, daevi’s words hung in the damp air, the great bear of a wolf showing no sign that he had heard her. she wondered if the rain and wind with their increasing intensity had carried her voice off and away, and whether or not she should forget this endeavor altogether and continue on her way. but suddenly the beast moved, turning his golden gaze upon her. ”hello,” he called back out to her, making slow steps toward her. in his voice was something daevi could only take as apprehension, maybe even suspicion. certainly not the good ol’ northern hospitality she was used to, where men would bend over backwards to help out a lady in need (though it did help that she was a daughter of a somewhat prestigious pack in those lands.) ”is everything all right?” now he just seemed to be confused. she frowned. perhaps wolves in this part just weren’t quite as friendly.

he took a few more heavy strides toward her. the closer he got, the bigger he became, towering over her and outweighing her at least threefold. she’d never seen a wolf quite so big. sure, she’d heard of dire wolves, and maybe knew a wolf or two who claimed his grandfather’s grandfather was half dire wolf or something to that effect. but she’d never seen one in person. ”can i help you?” he asked, and daevi padded closer so that she didn’t have to speak up over the rain, which pounded all around them, getting into her eyes and making her squint through it. it wasn’t a good look, but she’d make do.

“hi,” she repeated, a girlish smile forming on her lips. ”i was going to ask if you’d like to join me on a hunt, but now i’m not sure if this rain will let up.” she paused for a moment, lifting her chin slightly to gaze at the crying heavens, before turning back to him, smiling coyly. ”it’s quite lovely, isn’t it?” another pause, as she eyed the male, whose drenched fur lay flat against his body, revealing thick, strong muscles lying beneath. she wondered if he’d look even bigger when dry. it was hard to imagine a wolf even bigger than him. ”i’m daevi,” she offered, hoping that her usual gregariousness would work with these people just as well as those from her homeland.

The world around them only grew louder with the rain, and Montauk was finding it to be ever so slightly an annoyance. He never minded the rain, but as the clouds in the sky grew darker and the rain intensified, he couldn't help but lowering his head to keep the droplets from getting in to his face. The smaller wolf padded forward and his ears perked, his curiosity growing ever more; why had she wandered out this far? Who was she? And why did the fates decide that it would be he who would help her?

"Hi, I was going to ask if you’d like to join me on a hunt, but now I’m not sure if this rain will let up."

Montauk grinned as the words escaped her lips, his tail slowly starting to sway behind him. It seemed they were both on somewhat of the same trek- they were both seeking out their own truths and though different, it seemed that their individual needs would put them on the same path. The dire chuckled to himself in his head as he cursed the universe for having played him so well. The

"Of course," came the happy response from the male who was now beaming with a smile. The rain began to ease as the clouds grew lighter and the male looked back up to the sky. If Montauk hadn't known any better, this was the Universe giving him a test and task and he was eager to see the results of the outcome. He watched as the sun tried to poke through, the rain still gently falling now on their backs, and offered a gentle sigh. He still couldn't believe that this intangible force that he sought out so much had come to him and got him right under his nose. The universe was quite lovely in that regard, wasn't it?

”It’s quite lovely, isn’t it?”

Montauk's head snapped back down from his gazing at the heavens to look once more at the smaller wolf. His smile faded and that quizzical look reappeared on his face. He tilted his head, looking her over curiously; had she read his thoughts? No, no it couldn't have been. That, he knew was an impossible thing, and no living being could master telepathy (at least to his current knowledge of the world) and yet she had managed to utter almost word for word his own thoughts. She didn't know it yet, but this wolf had become the most interesting specimen to Montauk in this moment. He wanted to know more about her; he wanted to know everything about her. Where did she come from? Who was she? How could she have known such a thing that he was thinking in his mind?

"Yes," he began slowly, the smile beginning to return to his face, "it is one of the loveliest things in the world. It's...cleansing."

”I’m Daevi"

Daevi. Montauk processed the name thoroughly in his head as she spoke it. Daevi. Daevi. Daevi was going to be someone that Montauk wanted to get to know, if no other reason than for her knowledge of a world much different than his own; and the thought of that gave the dire chills of excitement.

"Hello Daevi," came the softer voice of the male as his smile widened. "My name is Montauk. I am merely traveling through these parts, but if you are hungry; I am almost certain we can find you a meal." As he spoke, a chorus of crows erupted through the silent world, flying past the two and heading west. Montauk laughed; the universe was definitely playing with him and he was so ready to take it on full force.

"It seems we may not have to look far for your dinner," he chuckled as the clouds grew dark and the rains picked up once more.